Single-detached homes lead the real estate market in Waterloo region

April was a rainy month in Waterloo Region, but that didn't coolthe real estate market, or the demand for single-detached homes.

A new report from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation said there were188 home starts in April, and 246 completions in Waterloo Region in April. A start refers to the beginning of construction of a housing unit, while a completion refers to when that unit is completed and ready to live in.

The majority of those home starts in April, 109, were single detached homes.

The CMHC report, published Friday, showed a small increase in starts over March 2016 a total of 179 units, as well as a jump in completions, 201 units.

On the surface, that doesn't seem like much of an increase and overall, home starts in the first quarter of 2017 are up just 8.4 per cent compared to the first quarter of 2016.

But the story is different for single-detached homes. The first quarter of 2017 showed a 73.5 per cent increase in the number of housing starts for single detached homes in the region.

• Kitchener-Waterloo house prices soar 40 per cent

Meanwhile, sales ofsingle-detachedhomes are showing no signs of slowing. TheKitchener-WaterlooAssociation of Realtors said thatprices jumped 40 per cent in a year, bringing the average price of all homes to $512,656 in the region.

Single-detached homes lead the packwith an average price of $594,453, while semi-detached homes were averaging $415,709.

In April, 915 single detached homes are under construction, and in total 3,876 housing units arebeing built.